Nvidia-Backed Platform Turns Text Into A.I.-Generated Avatars Boosts Valuation To $1 Billion

Synthesia, a digital media platform that enables users to create AI-generated videos, has recently secured $90 million in funding, with Nvidia, the prominent U.S. chip giant, among the investors. The London-based company successfully completed a funding round led by Accel, an early investor in major tech companies such as Facebook, Slack, and Spotify. Nvidia participated as a strategic investor, contributing an undisclosed amount. Other notable investors include Kleiner Perkins, GV, FirstMark Capital, and MMC.

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Founded in 2017 by Victor Riparbelli, Matthias Niessner, Steffen Tjerrild, and Lourdes Agapito, Synthesia specializes in developing software that allows individuals to create their own digital avatars for various purposes, such as delivering corporate presentations, training videos, or multilingual compliments to colleagues. The company's ultimate goal is to streamline professional video production by eliminating the need for cameras, microphones, actors, and extensive editing. Synthesia achieves this by employing AI-generated animated avatars that closely resemble and sound like real humans. These avatars are based on actual actors who speak in front of a green screen.

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Philippe Botteri, from Accel, the lead investor in Synthesia's Series C funding round, emphasized the potential for enhanced productivity through cost reduction in video production. He highlighted the widespread adoption of video communication facilitated by consumer platforms like YouTube, Netflix, and TikTok, noting that video is a highly effective means of conveying knowledge. Botteri expressed confidence in Synthesia's potential, emphasizing that the current achievements merely scratch the surface.

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Synthesia primarily serves enterprise clients, including prestigious names such as Tiffany's, IHG, and Moody's Analytics. While the company does not disclose specific sales or revenue figures, it has consistently achieved triple-digit growth and has witnessed a remarkable 456% year-over-year increase in the number of users on its platform. To further advance its technology, Synthesia intends to increase investment in AI research, with a specific focus on expanding the capabilities of its avatars to perform a wider range of tasks.

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Victor Riparbelli emphasized that Synthesia collaborates with 35% of the Fortune 100 companies, particularly in areas such as product marketing, customer support, and customer success, where converting text into video is highly valuable. As the company progresses to the next generation of its technology, Riparbelli outlined plans to enhance avatar expressiveness and enable them to engage in activities such as walking around in a room and holding conversations.

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Riparbelli also highlighted Nvidia's involvement, emphasizing that the company is not solely a semiconductor manufacturer but also possesses a substantial research and development division comprising skilled engineers, academics, and researchers who contribute to the field. He acknowledged Nvidia's leadership in training large AI models and their expertise in this domain.

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The interest in AI technologies continues to grow among investors as they seek innovative enterprise software capable of reducing costs in specific business processes. In an effort to address rising inflation and prepare for potential economic downturns, companies are diligently seeking opportunities to lower expenses. Recently, French business planning software company Pigment secured $88 million in funding, with a portion earmarked for AI investments.

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While the European tech market has experienced declining funding and reevaluated valuations, generative AI stands out as a notable area of growth. Atomico, a venture capital firm, reported that investments in European technology startups were expected to decline by 39% in 2023. However, generative AI attracted a significant portion of AI and machine learning investments, accounting for 35% of the total in 2022, a significant increase from the previous year's 5%.

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Concerns have been raised regarding the potential misuse of advanced video AI tools like Synthesia, which can contribute to the creation of deepfake videos. Deepfakes involve manipulating an individual's likeness to make it appear as though they are saying or doing something they never did. Some tech leaders and academics have called for a global pause on AI development beyond certain systems due to concerns about the technology's advanced capabilities and potential risks to humanity.

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Synthesia has taken ethical considerations into account during the development of its software. The company ensures it has consent from individuals featured as avatars and employs a combination of human and machine learning techniques to filter out inappropriate content such as profanity and hate speech. Synthesia is also a signatory of the Responsible Practices for Synthetic Media, an industrywide framework promoting ethical and responsible development, creation, and sharing of synthetic media.

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While acknowledging the discussions surrounding the long-term risks of AI, Victor Riparbelli encouraged a focus on the present-day challenges and opportunities. He stressed the need to address issues related to the technology's power and the associated problems that arise, such as dealing with hallucinations and potential pitfalls. Riparbelli emphasized the potential for leveling the playing field and empowering individuals to achieve more with fewer resources through AI technology.

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